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© 2004 American Academy of Neurology Brief Communications Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in the differential diagnosis of encephalitisFrom the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory (Dr. Glaser, S. Honarmand, C.P. Preas, and G.C. Cosentino), Division of Communicable Disease Control, California Department of Health Services, Richmond, CA; Division of Infectious Diseases (Dr. Chow), Department of Pediatrics, Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases (Drs. Sejvar and Bellini), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; and Department of Neurology (Dr. Hutchison), Children’s Hospital Central California, Madera, CA. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Somayeh Honarmand, Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory, California Department of Health Services, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Richmond, CA 94804; e-mail: shonarma{at}dhs.ca.gov The authors describe five cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) identified through the California Encephalitis Project that emphasize the importance of considering SSPE in the differential diagnosis of encephalitis, particularly among pediatric patients. SSPE was not suspected in the differential diagnosis of three of the cases until results of measles testing were known. The diagnosis of SSPE is often not considered by clinicians because of its rarity in the United States and the nonspecific clinical manifestations at onset.
Received March 18, 2004. Accepted in final form July 8, 2004. See also page 1352
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